EU: Backing for a Single Permit Directive
The Civil Liberties and Employment Committees of the European Parliament have voted in favour of a Single Permit Directive, which will give migrants from third countries who are working legally in the EU the same status as EU nationals, to enjoy comparable working conditions, social security and access to public services.

This measure would simplify administrative requirements for third-country nationals by enabling them to obtain work and residence permits through a single procedure and provide them with a standard set of rights comparable to those enjoyed by EU workers - such as decent basic working conditions, recognition of educational and professional qualifications and access to social security provisions.

If the draft Directive should become law it would still not prevent individual EU member states from deciding how many non-EU nationals they would admit each year or what additional conditions they would apply to the employment of such workers.

France: Works Council meetings via video conferencing
The French Supreme Court has decided that meetings of Central Works Councils could, in certain circumstances, take place via a video conference.

The case in question dealt with a ‘virtual meeting' which was organised unilaterally by the management of L'Oreal Cosmetique without the approval of the relevant trade union. The Court held that there was no reason to render the meeting invalid, but issued guidelines on what constitutes a valid video conference. It stated that it must be possible to see all the participants in the meeting and all parties must consent to the use of video conferencing (even if this is merely by not actively objecting). In addition, it would not be appropriate to use this approach if a secret ballot may be necessary at any point in the proceedings.

UK: Final court ruling on offshore worker holiday entitlements
The UK Supreme Court has upheld previous rulings of the Court of Session and the EAT which maintained that the statutory holiday entitlement of a group of workers employed on off-shore oil rigs was capable of being satisfied by the provision of regular onshore ‘field breaks'.

In coming to its decision, the Court rejected the workers' request for a reference to the European Court of Justice on the meaning of ‘annual leave' under article 7 of the EU Working Time Directive.

The claimants argued that ‘annual leave' meant a release from all work-related obligations and that the occasional requirement to attend medical appointments or training courses during onshore rest periods prevented this. The Court disagreed and stated that the employer has no obligation to permit them to take annual leave during periods when they would otherwise be required to work offshore (Russell and ors v Transocean International Resources Ltd and ors).

SMIC increases by 2.1% - plus further rise next month
The statutory minimum wage (SMIC) in France increased on December 1st by 2.1% from 9.00 to 9.19 euros per hour. It will rise again on January 1st 2012 to 9.22 euros an hour. This change will affect some 2.3 million workers across France.

Minimum wage transition period ends
From January 1st 2012 all companies in Slovenia will be required to pay the national minimum wage in full. A transitional option for companies to pay rates below the minimum was established following a major rate hike in February 2010. It was taken up by around 1,600 employers.

Holiday carrover period extended by six months
On January 1st 2012, Poland will introduce new legislation affecting the rules governing the carryover of unused annual leave from one year to the next. Currently the Polish Labour code provides that employees must use any outstanding annual leave by March 31st of the following year. The new legislation will extend this deadline by six months to 30th September of the following year. It is not clear how employers should treat outstanding holiday for 2011 as there are no transitional provisions in the legislation. The State Labour Inspectorate has issued initial guidance on this point stating that it will not be until 2013 that the new carry-over provisions effectively apply.

Government continues to stimulate wage inflation
The Hungarian government may have to foot a bill of 105 billion forint (344.4m euros) to fulfil its promise to compensate private companies for mandatory wage increases that exceed 5%. The incentive was established when private companies were required to increase gross pay levels so that net salaries were not reduced as a result of changes in the tax system. In a further move, the government plans an 18% increase in the minimum wage next year - more than four times the cabinet's 4.2% average inflation forecast for 2012.

Additional tax on generous golden handshakes
A new provision amending the Russian Tax Code enters into force on January 1st 2012. This applies a 13% tax rate to dismissal packages paid to a company director, deputy director or chief accountant that exceed three months salary. The types of payments covered are severance pay, salary paid during a notice period and any other compensation paid to an employee due to the termination of their contract(Federal Law no 330-FZ).

Social security rates still not agreed
The Bulgarian social partners have not yet reached agreement on next year's social security thresholds in 35 of the 85 employment sectors where they are established. The thresholds act as a sectoral minimum wage in many industries and were introduced to stop employers paying contributions on the basis of the national minimum wage, rather than an employee's true pay level. If agreement cannot be reached for the remaining sectors, then the current average sectoral increase of 7% will be applied to all the outstanding sectors.

Challenge to pay hike for EU officials
National governments across the European Union (EU) have reacted strongly against a proposed 1.7% increase in pay for staff employed in EU institutions. Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the UK are leading opposition to the increase, even though the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled last year that member states have to accept salary adjustments proposed by the European Commission - provided they are backed by reliable data. The Commission's proposal is based on changes in salary levels of national civil servants in eight member states, plus the rate of inflation in Belgium (where most EU officials reside

  © Copyright: FedEE Services Ltd 2011